By Lateef Adegbite and Suleiman Umaru
Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, a former governor of Kebbi state and now minister of Economic and Budget and National Planning, had aid that President Bola Ahmed is on the alert and monitoring what is happening in the country as regards to the End bad governance against hunger and hardship protests organized by Take It Back Movement.
The protests which have been aggravated by the removal of subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit, PMS, popular, petrol, floating of the naira in the country’s foreign exchange market and hike in electricity tariff, appears to have worsened the country’s struggling economy gasping for breath.
The minister who had appeared on Channels Television, Special Programme, ‘’The August , End Bad Governance Protests, had said that they have been monitoring and listening carefully to hear what are being said and noting them to make inputs .
The Nigerian President who may have bowed to pressure from several quarters to address Nigerians on the protest on Sunday, August 5, 2024, may have shocked Nigerians who had expected him to reinstate petrol subsidy being one of the demands of the organisers of the protests that it is gone for good and woud not be reversed.
The former Lagos state governor who had repeatedly said that his government took the painful yet necessary decision to remove subsidies on petrol and abolish multiple foreign exchange systems which had constituted a noose around the economic jugular of the nation that had impeded development and progress over the years.
Tinubu, who could beat his chest that with the implementation of the two major economic policies of the Administration, it has successfully’’ blocked the greed and the profits that the petrol smugglers and the rent-seekers had made’’.
The Nigerian Pesident who could not hide his feelings may have opened up when he disclosed that with the removal of petrol subsidy, the Nigerian Government have also blocked the undue subsidies that had been extended to the neighbouring countries of Republic of Benin, Niger, Chad and the Central African country of Cameroun to the detriment of Nigerians and further frustrating the country’s economy.
He was emphatic that the removal of petrol subsidy was a crucial step towards addressing decades of mismanagement by past Administrations. Given an insider information as the President and Commander –In-Chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces, he had said that the country’s economy had remained anaemic and taken a dip because of many misalignments that have hunted its growth.
In spite of the fact that the high cost of living in the country the Nigerian President who would not agree with critics that the Administration has performed poorly, had said that over the last one year, the government has made ‘’significant strides in rebuilding the foundation of the country’s battered economy that would carry the citizenry to the future of plenty and abundance’’.
He may have gladdened the heart of Nigerians when he noted that on the fiscal side, aggregated government revenues have more than double , hitting over $9.1 trillion in the first half of 202, compared to the first half of 202, during the then President Muhammadu Buhari’s Administration.
The incumbent Nigerian President had attributed the increase in the country’s revenue generation to blocking areas of leakages, introducing automation and mobilizing funding creatively without additional burden to the people.
Coming from a point in the past where the country had spent 97% of all its yearly earned revenue on both local and external debt servicing, the Nigerian President has confirmed that it had been drastically reduced to a manageable level of 68%.
The Lagos state born Nigerian President who is under intense pressure to deliver on his mandate may have broken the good news that the government have also cleared al the legitimate outstanding foreign exchange obligations of the North American country of the United States , US, %5 billion without any adverse impact the ruling All Progressive Cogress, APC, programmes.
The Lagos born politician, who appears to be doing everything within his powers to win the heart of Nigerians who had lost faith in his government because of the hunger and hardship in the country , had told those that cares to listen that by clearing the external foreign exchange obligations, the country has been left with more financial freedom ad given room to spend money on provision of basic infrastructural facilities in the country fund education and healthcare systems, that would benefit the people.
He may have alluded to the fact that if there is not much happening at the state and Local Governments levelst he governors and the Chairmen, should be blamed. He has his reason. He had pointed out that with the increased government monthly revenue generations from the sales of crude in the international oil market, non-oil and taxes, had resulted in the states and Local governments receiving more allocations from the Federation account. The message was very clear that the organisers of the End Bad Governance protests should channel their grievances to the governors and their Local government Chairmen and not the Federal Government, which have the 36 states of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory to cover.
It was not surprising why the aggrieved Nigerian President had said that ‘’it is with’’ a heavy heart and sense of responsibility, aware of the turmoil and violent protest across the country and FCT, unleased in some parts of the country, particular the north, that he had come out to address the people.
The Nigerian President who is pained by the loss of lives in the north western states of Kaduna, under the siege of the Bandits Group, which had been a terrorist Group by the Court, Kano, igawa and the north eastern state of Borno, under the siege of the Islamic Fundamentalist Group, BokoHaram, and the The Islamic State of West African Province, ISWAP, and other states of the Federation, was said to have commiserated with the families of the deceased.
Amnesty International had alleged that the anti-riot policemen deliberately ‘’employed tactics designed to kill while managing gatherings but actually used firearms as a tactical tool for protest management’.
The International Human Rights Group had said that security operatives had killed 113 protesters in Kano and other parts of the country. Muyiwa Adeobi, an Assistant Commissioner of Police and the Force spokesperson, would not take it.
He had said that figures made available to the Force Headquarters shows that seven protesters lost their lives in various circumstances unconnected to the police. ‘’Security operatives did kill anyone during the protests despite the provocation’’, he had said.
The aggrieved Nigerian President who was also not happy with the destruction of public facilities in some of the states where he protests had out to become violent like Kano and Yobe states, stating that it has set the country back as’’ scarce resources again be used to restore the damaged facilities’’.
The wanton looting of supermarkets and shops by the protesters, contrary to the promise of officials of Take I Back Movement, organizes of the Protests across the country and FCT, that’’ it will be peaceful’’, was said to have equally touched the President.
The bad side of the protest in the ancient town of Kabir Yusuf Abba of the ruling New Nigerian People’s Party, NNPP, in Kano state , was that some one hiding somewhere was busy sharing Russian flag to the protests , without knowing what it is or what it meant.
This may have fueled speculations making the rounds that Russia which had fully armed Capt. Ibrahim Traore , led Burkina Faso military junta alongside Turkey, may have taken advantage of the End Bad Governance against hunger and hardship protest to enter Nigeria through Kano. Senator Shehu Sani, had said that the development in Kano, where there was much destruction, has validated the government’s position about foreign interests in the protests.
Bashir Ahmad, an Aide to former President Buhari, would want the Authorities ‘’to monitor the situation in Kano and other states in northern part of the Federation and take necessary precautions’’.Note that the Russian government, in the last couple of years has been linked to the military coups in the West African countries of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, Republic.
The leaders of the military junta in these countries were said to have distanced them elves from the Leadership of the Authority of Heads of States and Government of the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS.
Yury Paramonov, Press Secretary, Russian Embassy in Nigeria, had denied the country’s involvement in the nationwide protests in Nigeria. He had said that even if Russian Flags were displayed by the protesters in Kano, it has nothing to do with his home country government but the decision of individuals. Might His worry was why they might have used the Russian Flags if not to initiate a diplomatic war between the two friendly nations.
He was said to have made it clear to the Nigerian Government that Russian Federation under the Leadership of Vladimir Putin, is in no way involved in the current protests in Nigeria, the most populous country in the Sahel region, let alone provide financial support to the protesters.
Time will tell whether the Russian Embassy in Nigeria Press Secretary is saying the truth or not that the Embassy staff does not have any information about any groups of protesters in Kano that were using the country’s Flag or state symbols of the country, which is currently at war with neighbouring Ukraine.
Back to the speech. Sowere Omoyele, former Presidential Cndidate, African Action Congress, AAC, in the February 25, 2023, Presidential election, who had been linked to the August, End Bad Governance protest against hunger and hardship, would not want aggrieved Nigerians to fall to the tricks of the President insisting that he has not met any of their demands.
He had expected the Nigerian President to advantage of the protest to reinstate the subsidy on petrol, stating that his refusal to do so had already triggered fuel scarcity and price gouging all over Nigeria. The activist who had said that the President refusal to address the thorny petrol subsidy issue was a clear indication that ‘’nothing good come out from the Nigerian Elite in and out of power’’
Ibim Semitari, a veteran journalist and former Managing Director, Niger Delta Development Agency, NNDDC, and Commissioner for Information during Rotimi Amaechi’s Administration’s Administration as governor of Rivers state who is not impressed with the President ‘s speech would want him to address the country’s food security first and foremost .
She was said to have asked Tinubu ‘’to address food inflation ‘’, lamenting that many Nigerians can no longer afford garri to drink. There is no gain saying the fact that prices of food items and other basic commodities have climbed through the roof top since the Nigerian President unified the country’s official and parallel, popular, black market exchange rates on May 29, 2024.
